Revifir of Renews, 1/10/06. 



History of the Month. 



327 



Fiench Parliament was entirely favourable to any 

 proposal for the definite and complete interruption 

 of any fresh increase of «ar expenses lop ly made, 

 loyally accepted and loyally applied. The resolu- 

 tion carried bv the Conference on the rnotion of M. 

 D'Estournelles de Constant runs as follows:— 



TV,o Tntpnrirliamentary Conference, considering that the 



rleise them to specify. The sole object of that meetiug 

 ^ould be t? discuss the means to be employed in cmli ed 

 countries-^r in Parliumeutary countries, it was all the 

 s?^(Clforiiu»-«ng "D «"d '° ''"' general increase of rnili- 

 ?.W Budgets and to maintain them within the limits of 

 the figur^ which they had at present reached. 



This proposition is not so good as the proposal to 

 i)ress each Government to make its own prehmmary 

 study A Committee created by the TnbKue news- 

 paper has put forward the suggesrion that the Hague 

 Conference should abandon all attempts to defire 

 the strength of armaments either on land or sea 

 and confine itself to a demand that the money spen 

 .each year on the army and the navy should be ac 

 Vepteri as the recognised equivalent of fighting force 



Fhotogravh b;/] The Royal Gallery at the 



\s it was arranged for the Sessions of 



be made the subject of the national study necessary to 

 secure the success of the international discussion. 

 This preliminary national study is indispensable, if 

 the fate of the 'next standstill proposition is not to 

 be as great a fiasco at the next Hague Conference as 

 it was at the last. 



» 



Practical 

 Suggestions, 



Parliament, had 

 assemble within 



M. Messimy said that 



He would like to see a small number of 

 delegates, strong in the support ot tnat 

 great assembly, and regularly invested 

 by the political groups winch, in eacn 

 to deal with international arbitration, 

 I few months in a town which it might 



, o ,. . [Frith. 



Houses of Parliament. i- 



the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. 



If this proposal were adopted, every Power would 

 \>e free to spend its money as it pleased, lumping it 

 all in ironclads or submarines or fortresses or army 

 corps, as it saw fit. But it would be forbidden to 

 spend a copeck more ort its land and sea forces than 

 the maximum spent in the last twelve months. Ut 

 course there would be considerable difficulty in avoid- 

 ing surreptitious expenditure. But an international 

 system of accountancy is not beyond the capacity of 

 human ingenuity. A new and glorified Bureau at 

 Berne would do for the armies and navies of the 



